Pirates hijack ship near Madagascar

Brussels - Pirates seized a fishing boat with a crew of 26 Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese nationals off Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, the European Union naval forces said on Thursday.

The Taiwanese vessel reported coming under attack on the morning of Christmas Day, December 25, some 120 nautical miles off the north-eastern tip of the island, the EU-Navfor anti-piracy mission said, adding that no contact has been possible since then.

"Strong indications are that FV Shiuh Fu No 1 has been pirated," it added in a statement. "The conditions of the crew or the vessel are not known."

The EU said there are now 26 vessels and 613 hostages being held by pirates.

The latest attack, following two further Christmas attacks even further south off central Mozambique in east Africa, underlines the extent to which international anti-piracy efforts, with China also co-operating with EU forces, have forced pirates to move further away from Somalia.

Comments

Logs01 - 2010-12-31 09:20

You don’t fix the problem (disease) by “plugging” the holes or “sticking on a Band-aid” as the sores come out and spread. If something is “infected” and spreading rapidly, you fix the problem by attacking the “cause” and “root” thereof. Go after the Organizations, Leaders and even the Country/ Government that “houses” them and where they operate from, “fighting” them on their own “terms” and “rules”! Same goes for SA’s problems with Corruption, Theft, Bad Management, Crime, etc. If you “battle” to fix it from the “out-side”, help it to “self destruct”! Best way to fight a run-away “veld-fire”, is with fire. You start a controlled fire downwind, to “burn” into the oncoming threat and assist self-destruction with the minimum controlled “damage”. If you let it “run” without fighting it on its own “terms”, it will consume and destroy everything in its path. You do not get into a “gun-fight with a knife”. How many times do you turn the “other cheek’, till you “moerred” senseless? There is no “pill” to fix stupidity!